Revision of the Eurovignette Directive

Briefing 10-05-2022

The European Parliament and the Council as co-legislators have adopted changes to Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructure (known as the Eurovignette Directive). Vignettes for heavy goods vehicles will have to be phased out across the core trans-European transport network from 2030 and replaced by distance-based charges (tolls). With a number of other changes, this should help make road pricing fairer and more efficient. The European Commission put forward a legislative proposal to amend the directive in May 2017, as part of its first 'mobility package' seeking to modernise mobility and transport. The aim of the proposal was to move away from a time-based model of charging (vignettes) to a distance-based one – that better reflects the polluter-pays and user-pays principles – and to include other vehicles. In Parliament, the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) took the lead. Parliament adopted its first-reading position in October 2018, without agreement with the Council. After the 2019 European elections, Giuseppe Ferrandino (S&D, Italy) took over as rapporteur. The Council adopted its position in December 2020. Interinstitutional negotiations in the first half of 2021 paved the way for an agreement, subsequently approved formally by both the Council and the Parliament. Sixth edition of a briefing originally drafted by Ariane Debyser and updated by Damiano Scordamaglia. The 'EU Legislation in Progress' briefings are updated at key stages throughout the legislative procedure.